The Time Turner Accident
by Angus McGonagle
Summary: Sixth year transfiguration students are being assigned a research project. Remus wants to research time turners and is teamed to work with Sirius when he can't think of a subject. They are sworn to secrecy until they present their findings however that promise will be put to the test when an accident occurs that causes them to re-live the same 10 hour period.


**The Time Turner Accident**

"Professor McGonagall, do you have a minute?" Remus asked as he hung back in Transfiguration one day.

"Yes, Mr. Lupin, I don't have another class for a while. What do you need?

"I was wondering about this essay assignment you gave us. I had an idea for a subject but it is not really related to Transfiguration, at least not in any way I can think of."

"Well, run it by me and I'll be the judge of whether it is appropriate or not." McGonagall replied.

"OK, I was wanting to research time turners."

A dark look came over her face as she decided whether or not she wanted to let him go anywhere near that subject. "Such artifacts do factor into some Transfiguration theory so that is not a problem. I'll have to discuss this with Professor Dumbledore. Time turners are still very experimental at the ministry. The only way to effectively research one is for you to obtain one and use it and from what I've heard, however bad things happen to wizards who mess with time. Let me talk to Dumbledore and see what he says. I may let you pair up with someone else to do this. To be honest, I'm surprised that you didn't want to do something associated with werewolves, given your situation."

"I thought about it at first, but to be honest, I don't want my condition to completely define me and my education. I don't want it to become an obsession. I can still do research on that as well as explore different areas of magic in the curriculum."

"I can definitely respect that viewpoint. I'll get back to you after I have a chat with Professor Dumbledore."

"Thank you, Professor."

_Later in Professor Dumbledore's Office…_

"You wanted to ask me something, Minerva?"

"Yes, Albus, I assigned my 6th years an essay on complex transfiguration magic and got a request about a topic."

"And what might that topic be?" Dumbledore asked.

"Remus Lupin would like to research time turners. I told him that I would have to talk to you first given the highly experimental nature of these artifacts."

"Did he say why he wanted to research time-turners?" Dumbledore said as he got up from behind his desk and walked towards the perch of his pet phoenix, Fawkes.

"He didn't say why he wanted to research time turners, only that he didn't want his condition to define who he was and everything he did. He didn't want it to become his obsession."

"I'm inclined to allow him to do this. I'll petition the ministry on his behalf. I'm going to request he partner with another student on this for a couple reasons. First and foremost, this will be a large burden to undergo and he shouldn't do it alone. Secondly, the ministry is going to want to know who is doing this project and if I give them Remus's name they will not allow it."

"That is utter nonsense! I would trust Remus with this project far more than I would any other student his year much less in this school. Just because of something that happened to him that he had no control over they think he can't be trusted?" McGonagall shouted.

"You don't have to bemoan their stupidity to me, Minerva. I'm well aware of the lack of sense inherent in the ministry's bigotry. However, for Remus's sake I have to factor that bigotry into my plans when I deal with them and unfortunately, this is the only way that I'll get this to work. As it is, we will need to supervise this research anyway for them to fully agree to it." Dumbledore explained.

"It's just as well. I already told him that I would probably let him pair up with another student for this. Now I'll just tell him that the ministry insists on it. I'll talk to him this evening in the common room and tell him what we discussed."

"I will join you for this conversation because there are some points to this research that I want him to be clear on and I think he should hear it from both of us."

"Thank you, Albus. I would definitely appreciate your help in this."

Professor McGonagall was just heading back to her office when she came across Sirius Black pacing outside her office.

"Mr. Black, is there something I can do for you?" she said tersely, not wanting to put up with any of his childish antics.

"Yes, Professor. I've been thinking about this essay you assigned us and to be honest, I'm at a loss. I have no idea what I want to do this project on. Nothing is inspiring me right now."

As she listened to Sirius a smile started to spread across her face. Sirius Black may have just solved the problem on who to team Remus with for his time turner research. "Mr. Black, I may have a solution to your problem. Mr. Lupin came to me earlier with an idea for a topic that although I approve of, neither Professor Dumbledore nor I want him to take on alone. How would you like to team up with Remus to research time turners?"

"Time turners? I never thought about that since I don't see any direct connection to Transfiguration, but that does sound interesting. Why don't you want him to do this alone?"

"Because research on this topic is going to be very time consuming and very complex. Although he is an excellent student, Professor Dumbledore and I both think this topic is not something to be taken lightly or to be taken on by himself. Furthermore, you are not to discuss this with anyone while you are working on the project. You will both be presenting this to the whole class upon completion. Until then, you are not to mention it to anyone."

"Class presentations? Ugh! Why do we have to do that and not anyone else? And why don't you want us to talk about this with other students?" Sirius asked.

"You won't be the only ones presenting to the class. I'm going to make this a requirement for everybody. As to why I don't want you to discuss this, it is a highly experimental magic artifact. Any experimentation with time turners will have to be done under supervision by myself and Professor Dumbledore otherwise the ministry won't allow it. The fewer the number of people who know you are researching, the less chance there will be of someone finding out and making trouble. I imagine the ministry will also be insisting on secrecy. So, what do you say Mr. Black? Would you like to do this?

"Since it's Remus, yes, I'll do it. Anything for my fellow marauder."

"Your what?" McGonagall asked.

"Never mind." Sirius said realizing he might have said too much.

"Fine." She said deciding that she didn't really want to know any more about that last bit. "Professor Dumbledore and I will come by the common room this evening and explain some of the guidelines we will be requiring."

_Later in the Gryffindor Common Room…_

Sirius crawled through the portrait to the Gryffindor common room. He looked around the room for Remus. He was sitting at a table in the corner of the common room poring over his homework. Sirius walked over to where Remus was and sat down next to him.

"Has McGonagall talked to you at all today?" Sirius asked him.

"No, why?" Remus asked back.

"Well I talked to her earlier because I was having trouble coming up with a subject to do this research project on. Needless to say, I'm now working with you. This is going to be fun!"

"Sirius! You better be serious about this project. Oh, shut it, will you." He said after realizing the play on words. "I'm not joking. I don't want to get a 'T' on this because you're too busy playing around. Besides, I'm sure she told you what it is we're researching and it's not something to be taken lightly." Remus chided his friend.

"Remus, relax. You know I joke around a lot but when have I not taken my classes seriously? Why do you think I'm named Sirius?"

"Because everyone in your family is named after constellations. I don't know why they picked the Dog Star, though. Because they thought you were an ugly baby?" Remus suggested.

"Touché, my friend. Anyway, I am kind of curious about why you picked that topic. Granted, it sounds interesting. I figured you'd go more for the animal transfiguration thing."

"It seems I'm getting asked that a lot. I don't want this 'furry little problem' to define everything about me or become an obsession. I would like to pursue things that I found interesting before I became a werewolf." Remus explained.

"And time is one of those things?" Sirius asked.

"You have to admit, it is interesting. Potentially being able to change events and the far reaching effects it could have."

"Yeah, it's because of that that I am taking this seriously. To be honest, I'm a little bit weary of this. Just think of the number of things that can go wrong. It seems to me that the hazards outweigh the benefits. I'm surprised the ministry is even messing around with it."

Just then the portrait hole open up and McGonagall stepped inside and walked over to where Sirius and Remus were sitting.

"Remus, Sirius, I would like both of you to come up to Professor Dumbledore's office with me. He would like to go over the ground rules for your project with you and we felt it best that it be done in the privacy of his office."

"Yes, Professor." They both said as they gathered up their books and quickly took them up to their dorm.

After they left their books up in the dorm, they went back down to the common room and followed McGonagall up to Dumbledore's office. Once they stepped into the office, Dumbledore asked them to sit down.

"Remus, Sirius, I thought I'd go over a few things about this research project before it begins. For starters, you are not to tell anyone about this at all. I don't want any publicity about what is being done here until after it's finished and you're ready to make your presentation. I don't want students wanting to see a demonstration. Secondly, the time turner is only to be used under our supervision. In the end, we are responsible for your safety so I want to do my part to make sure you are safe. Please give your word that you will abide both of these restrictions."

"I promise, Professor." Remus said.

"As do I, Professor." Sirius answered.

"Good, we'll start on Monday after your classes are finished. Now, there is one last thing I want to discuss with you. Remus, I believe it is only fair that I am honest regarding why I insisted you work with this with another person."

"Hmm, let me guess…you don't think the ministry will allow me to do this if is just me involved because of my werewolf problem." Remus piped in.

"No, I know for certain they won't let you do it if it just you. Don't think that I don't trust you, Remus. If there is anyone who is trustworthy enough to do this project, it is you. I just know the ministry and have had to deal with their bigotry on more than one occasion. Also, with Fenrir Greyback on the loose and particularly busy, they don't want to take any chances. Remus, you will be taking the lead on this as it was your idea. However, if anyone from the ministry comes poking around, it would be best if you played along with me if I tell them you are assisting. Otherwise, they will put an end to it immediately."

"I don't like it, but I understand and I will do as you say." Remus said.

"Thank you. Now, unless there is anything is to discuss, off to bed with you."

_10 minutes later in the Gryffindor Common Room…_

Remus and Sirius climbed back through the portrait hole and sat down in front of the fire.

"So how is this going to work?" Sirius asked.

"No idea, I was right there next to you and didn't hear anything you didn't. I imagine we'll probably find more out on Monday." Remus replied.

"I just wish we could do this without all the secrecy. Not so much that we need to keep what we're doing secret but that we have to keep secret that this is your idea. Besides, anyone who knows me will know that I'm not that deep a thinker to want to do this."

"I don't like it much either but I'm willing to go along with it if it will allow me to do the project. Besides, I know that McGonagall will give me fair credit for the work I do. We should probably get to bed. After all, we have Hogsmeade tomorrow, which should take our mind off of things." Remus said as the two headed upstairs to the sixth year boys' dorm.

_Monday morning…_

The Marauders were sitting in Double Potions class on Monday afternoon. All save Wormtail, who was not as adept at Potions and had little interest in it. It was the last class for that day and it seemed to be going on forever. Remus only managed to make it to NEWT level with a lot of hard work and determination. Except it seems that today Slughorn was droning on about as badly as Binns would. This all came naturally to Sirius and James and particularly Lily. The class ending bell couldn't come soon enough for Remus and yet it was still 10 minutes away.

"…and with that we'll call it a day. Homework is a foot long essay on bezoars." Slughorn announced as the class started packing up.

Remus bade good-bye to Lily whom he was sharing a table with and made his way over to James and Sirius who were sitting together at another table. "Hey, Sirius, James. I thought that class would never end."

"Slughorn isn't that bad. Binns is far worse when it comes to droning on." James said. "I wish so badly to be sitting where you are, Remus."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Sirius asked.

"Sirius, you're a great friend but you don't have that beautiful red hair, or emerald green eyes that you can get lost in." James said.

"or breasts?" Sirius chimed in.

"I'm not all about that!" James protested.

Sirius arched his eyebrow at James.

"Ok, but I'm not entirely about that."

"James, you and I are friends. Don't think that I'm not trying to convince her of your character. Eventually she'll come around and I'll have to sit next to Fleabag here."

"Hey, Remus, that hurts me right here." Sirius said pointing at his heart.

"But, Sirius and I have to go talk to McGonagall." Remus said without paying any attention to Sirius. "That should give you plenty of time to pursue the love of your life, James."

"What do you have to see McGonagall for?" James asked.

"About the transfiguration project."

"Both of you?" James asked.

"McGonagall wanted me to partner with someone for mine and Sirius didn't know what to do his one so she teamed us up."

"So what are you doing yours on?"

"Dumbledore and McGonagall have sworn us to secrecy."

"Seriously, I'm a fellow Marauder!" James said.

"If we run into a problem and need extra help, I'll ask if we can bend the secrecy rule. Until then I'm not about to jeopardize this project. Until then I'm not about to jeopardize this project." Remus said.

"All right, but remember you can trust me."

"I may ask anyway, I don't like keeping secrets and they trust you about as much as me" Remus said.

With that, Sirius and Remus left the dungeons and headed for McGonagall's office. Her class had just let out when they showed up outside her classroom. They walked in after everyone else had left.

"Lupin, Black, how did you get here so fast? Class just let out." McGonagall asked.

"Professor Slughorn let us out a few minutes early."

"Well we need to go up to Professor Dumbledore's office. That is where the ministry official is going to have the time turners."

They made their way up to Professor Dumbledore's office. They knocked and were told to enter. As they entered, Remus saw the ministry official and found her to be somewhat hostile looking. For starters, she had the face of a toad that happened to look either frightened or angry.

"Ah, Minerva, you're here. Minerva, Remus, Sirius, I'd like you to meet Madame Umbridge from the Department of Mysteries where the research into time turners is done. Madame Umbridge, may I present Professor McGonagall who teaches transfiguration, and the two students who are working on this project, Mr. Remus Lupin and Mr. Sirius Black."

"Thank you, professor. Who might I ask is taking lead on this project?" Madame Umbridge asked in a high girlish simper.

"There is no lead. This is a class project partnership. Each student will be doing an equal amount of work. I assure you that Professor McGonagall will know if they haven't. As it is, Sirius and Remus happen to be two of the best students in sixth year, so I trust them to treat this project seriously." Dumbledore said with a look on his face that indicated he was not going to yield.

Apparently Madame Umbridge wasn't impressed. "I'm afraid I can't allow this to go any further then. I was not aware that a werewolf was going to be involved in this project." Umbridge stated baldly.

"Madame Umbridge, I have already sought and received permission from the Minister of Magic whom I have assured that the project will be supervised by myself and Professor McGonagall. That was sufficient for the Minister and it will be sufficient for you. Now, the time turner if you please" Dumbledore said once again with a note of finality.

Umbridge had a nasty look on her face but knew she had been beaten. She went to the corner of Dumbledore's office where on a table sat a box. She opened the box up and pulled something out. Right before she pulled the time turner out, Remus could have sworn that he saw her wand slide out of her sleeve and something spark inside the box. He shook it off as overactive imagination.

"All right, you need to stand close together so the chain will fit over both of your necks." Umbridge said as she handed the time turner to Sirius. "Then one of you will need to hold the time turner in your hand and turn it once for each hour you wish to move backward in time. I recommend one hour to be sufficient for this study." She said in her simpering girlish voice.

Sirius put the chain over both of their necks and took the hourglass in his hand and turned it once. Immediately the surroundings of Dumbledore's office began to fade away and the lighting began to change. As it went completely dark, Remus and Sirius realized that something had gone wrong.

"What happened, why is it dark?" Sirius asked.

"Lumos" Remus whispered. He held it up towards the wall in Dumbledore's office that he remembered a clock had been hung. It read 5:00. Assuming it was dark out and it was 3 in the afternoon when they had used the time turner he realized that the one hour they were supposed to go back became 10 hours.

"Might I ask what mischief you two have gotten into that couldn't wait until daylight?" Dumbledore said as he walked up behind both of them causing them to leap in fright.


End file.
